Thanks to Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana for filling us in on some of the Mayor's ribbon cutting interrupted schedule tonight in his post "Ballard Lies: Tells Councilors Homestead Credit Only Benefits The Rich".
Here's the funniest line in the press release:
The Council majority's current plan is unfunded, increases spending, more than doubles the deficit for 2014, and strips support of our downtown economy in order to give tax breaks to a select few.Well, it is balanced, therefore funded.
It increases spending - most spectacularly for the Parks budget where the demon D's had the unmitigated gaul to add $400,000 to pay the utility bills - which were left unfunded by our oh-so-funny Mayor. There are smaller increases and reductions elsewhere, but all leading to a balance budget.
What has the Mayor miffed, is they declined his invitation to eliminate the homestead credit and rather knocked at the door of the CIB for additional money - which is not appropriated and not part of the actual budget. As Councillor Brown phrased it tonight, it simply gives the Mayor the wherewithal to fulfill his promises.
The supposed deficit for 2014 - there is no deficit if Mayor Vaughn, acting Mayor while Ballard oversees ribbon cutting and world tour venue selection, doesn't instruct the CIB to file a lawsuit over the PILOT. Duh !
And lastly, oh so over the top - yes folks, the 'end times for downtown' are BACK and Better Than Ever !!! The golden oldies never let you down. The Mayor's press release actually says the revised budget "... strips support of our downtown economy in order to give tax breaks to a select few". Precious !
Councillor Caldwell even said at tonight's Council meeting , and I swear he wasn't even chocking back a guffaw, the CIB PILOT was "putting 70,000 jobs downtown at risk". Now that's Mayoral potential for you; to actually spit that sentence out without turning beet red from the embarrassment.
As for those "select few" - Now we all know full well that Mayor Ballard and Mayor Vaughn know what they are talking about when they talk about a select few benefiting to the detriment of the many. So, I assume they will be recalling this part of their press release like so much salmonella infected melons once they realize their error. The select few, according to the City's Controller, Jeff Spalding, add up to 198,049 homeowners who would pay $4.4 million more in property taxes if the homestead credit is eliminated. And, you'd have to add all of the school districts in Marion County who would be penalized by an aggregate $3.4 million dollars. And, also the Library, IndyGo and Health & Hospitals who would be penalized by an aggregate $1.3 million. Those "select few". How dare the Democrats put the CIB ahead of them and ask the CIB to contribute to the cost of the police and fire protection they consume in vast quantities any time they sponsor an event downtown !
I don't know if William Shattner is available to play another curmudgeonly old guy who utters the most inane remarks, but if he is - we have a real chart topping hit on our hands ! America will be rolling in the aisles.
9 comments:
The 70,000 job figure is really getting old. They include every single service-related job in the Indianapolis metro area, the vast majority of which receive absolutely no benefit from the downtown convention trade and sporting events. You would think they were high paying jobs. Most of the people in these jobs have no health insurance and show up at Wishard for free health care every time they have serious medical conditions. The taxpayers wind up picking up the bill because they are forced into bankruptcy because they can't afford the bills.
I agree. I'll be digging back into the archives for the study commissioned by Councillor Lutz back when the Council approved the CIB bailout. If memory serves, it was more like 6,000.
Lets remember that the CIB no longer has to pay the Pacers $10 m a year,plus they will be getting over $4 m from the sale of one of their buildings. That's 14 of the 15 million already. Not a hit so hard that all the downtown jobs are in jeopardy and the CIB is put on the brink of bankruptcy. Give me a break.
If I remember correctly the sale of the building was 4.6 million and ICVA was promised the money.
Anon - the ICVA already gets $9 million from the CIB's coffers - mostly filled with tax revenues. The hotel industry can contribute more to the ICVA, if they are doing such a great job. There is no need for the taxpayers to pitch in more money to make up for a boost the ICVA got from the White Foundation.
The White Foundation gift from billionaire Dean White was sort of a thank you present for the more than $60 million the city gave him to build the JW Marriott. The politicians all got a free weekend stay at the hotel during a big gala affair the Whites put on to entertain them, in addition to the large campaign contributions White made to them.
Jobs, I Googled this Indianapolis, 66000 jobs ant=d got this link;
http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2009/08/not-my-party-tom.html
It's an article by Tom John on posted on Advance Indiana.
Mayor Ballard and his Republican team continue to show their dedication to the citizens of Indianapolis. Not only did they save 66,000 jobs, but they protected Indianapolis homeowners from a broad-based tax increase and opened up millions of dollars in new funding sources for the city. Democrat Jackie Nytes also understood the gravity of the moment and voted for the future of our city."
I guess they needed to bump the number up to 70k for credibility.
Cardwell is with out a doubt the worst of the bunch. He has his head so far up Ballards butt that he can't see daylight. He has become a very wealthy man off the backs of the citizens of Indianapolis. I once thought that he was a guy who could think on his own, nope,he just does what Grand and Ballard tell him to do.
An alert reader helped me out with the analysis that was commissioned back when the CIB bailout was before the Council.
It does conclude that the expanded convention center would increase the number of jobs generated by tourism from 6,490 to 7,430 jobs in Marion County.
Councillor Cardwell is off by an order of magnitude.
I uploaded the report to Google Drive -- https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwdQpQK1GbNraWV0Nzl6QVNWVjQ
Once again the Star persists in aiding and abetting our mayor with today's puff piece in the Metro section. No hard questions and taking everying the mayor said as Gospel.
Our mayor stated the 2013 budget as "kicking the can down the road". Why doesn't the Star ask where the money went from the 65% increase in COIT taxes that was alledgely an increase for public safety? Why aren't there any questions about the questionable deals like the parking meter fiasco where the bulk of the money goes to the vendor or the water company deal? Why aren't there any questions about the giveaway of the Pan-Am Plaza?
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